AT approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a vehicle drove into a business in the 900-block of West 1st Street in North Vancouver, reversed and hit a parked vehicle, and flipped.

When RCMP officers arrived on scene and spoke to the driver, who was unharmed, they noted signs that she was impaired. Officers conducted an impaired driving investigation, during which the driver failed to provide a sample of breath into an Approved Screening Device (ASD).

The driver, a North Vancouver woman in her 40s, is facing charges of failing or refusing to provide a breath sample and a 90-day driving suspension. The penalties for failing or refusing to provide a sample of breath carry the same or higher penalties as someone who failed a roadside breath test, said police.

“Sadly, each year in B.C., 64 people die in crashes involving impaired driving, according to ICBC road safety statistics,” said Constable Mansoor Sahak. “Even one impaired driver is one too many. The risk they represent is unacceptable, and that’s why we will continue to search for them and take them off the road. In the case of this incident, we are just so glad that none of the patrons inside the business were injured.”

Sahak pointed out that B.C. has the toughest drinking and driving laws in Canada. If you’re caught driving impaired, you could face these penalties:

* Driving suspensions from 24 hours to 90 days
* Vehicle impoundment
* Fines, from $600 to $4,060
* Jail time
* Mandatory rehabilitation
* Installation of ignition interlock in your vehicle
You may also have to pay a Driver Risk Premium, on top of your insurance, and if you crash while driving impaired, you’re likely in breach of your insurance policy. That means you could be personally responsible for 100 per cent of the costs if you damage someone else’s property or injure them, according to information from ICBC.